


Finishing Touches

by sophh



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Muggle, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Banter, Christmas Fluff, F/M, First Meeting, Fluff, Fremione Fanatics Yule Fest 2020, Hermione is tipsy and in need of a tall person, meeting the neighbour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:28:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27992280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: When decorating her Christmas tree, Hermione realizes she needs a little help with the finishing touch.A Muggle/neighbours!AU.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Comments: 18
Kudos: 65
Collections: Fremione Fanatics 2020 Yule fest





	Finishing Touches

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the [Fremione Fanatics Yule fest 2020 - click to see more fluffy holiday Fremione fics!](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Fremione_Fanatics_Yule_2020)
> 
> I really struggled with this fic but I'm so happy with the way it turned out! Many thanks to Ash Juillet for betaing.

There was no way that Hermione could risk it. 

The tree was at least three feet taller than her, and she had decided to indulge in some mulled wine while she decorated, so she didn't trust herself to stand on the stepladder and not go tumbling off of it. 

Yes, there was no way around it: Hermione was going to have to ask someone else — someone _taller_ , preferably — to put the star atop her tree. She racked her brain for a moment, but came up with no one. She had no close friends she could bother, and her parents lived too far away to be troubled with something so trivial. 

Her thoughts drifted to the smiling redhead who lived next door. As a neighbour, he was rather noisy, but he seemed like the friendly sort — making him the perfect candidate, really, to ask such a small favor from. Hermione exited her flat and took three steps to the left, reaching his door. 

She had barely finished two knocks when the door swung open and she found herself gazing up at her neighbour. His hair was a tousled mess, as if he had recently gotten out of bed, and he was dressed in the comfiest jumper Hermione had ever seen. 

"Can I help you?"

"Hi," Hermione said, feeling somewhat out of breath despite the incredibly short amount of time it had taken her to walk over. "I mean, yes, I was hoping you might be able to help me with something, er, in my flat." 

He gave her an appraising look and something reminiscent of a smirk. "Ah, a damsel in distress? I always _was_ a sucker for one of those." 

"Well, I don't know if I'd call it distress.," Hermione frowned, nibbling on her lower lip. "But I'm in need of someone vertically endowed to place the star on top of my tree." 

"You don't put an angel up there?" Her neighbour gave her a look that could only be described as scandalized. When her frown deepened, he began to laugh. "I'm only joking, love. My mum always put an angel at the top of ours, but stars are fine too." He clapped his hands together, his face lighting up with a boyish excitement. "Come on, then, lead the way to your humble abode." 

Hermione giggled, a reaction she blamed entirely on the mulled wine. "Right. Well...I'm just next door." She walked the three steps back to her front door, pushed it open, and gestured inside. 

"Nice place," her neighbour commented, glancing around as he entered. "Very...neat." 

Hermione mumbled her thanks as she walked past him, leading the way to the living room. In the corner stood her nearly-finished tree, stepladder already in place beside it. 

"Oh, you've got a stepladder? Excellent." Her neighbour climbed onto it with ease, but Hermione hurried over to spot him nonetheless. "Er, where's the star?"

"Oh, here." Hermione picked up the decoration and handed it to him. Their fingers brushed together momentarily, and she bit back a gasp at the surge of electricity that surged through her. 

"I like your jumper," she blurted out in an attempt to cover up her surprise. Her neighbour settled the star atop the tree before replying. 

"What, this?" He plucked at the hem of it. "My mum knits one for me every year." He didn't sound embarrassed about this, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Well, it looks very cosy," Hermione said honestly.

The redhead nodded towards the top of the tree. "Does that look all right? It's not crooked or anything?" 

Hermione looked up at the star. It was a simple metal ornament that her parents had given her, but it was just the finishing touch her tree had needed. 

"Oh, yes, it's fine," she said. She kept her eyes glued to him as he disembarked from the stepladder — there would be no accidents on her watch. Once she was sure that his feet were firmly on the ground, she cleared her throat and held out her hand. "Thank you for your help…" 

She trailed off, realizing that she still didn't know his name. Much to her relief, her neighbor seemed to know exactly what to say. 

"I'm Fred," he said, shaking her proffered hand. 

Hermione was expecting the jolt when he touched her this time, and she worked hard to keep her expression neutral, even pleasant. "I'm Hermione. It's nice to meet you, Fred." 

"Likewise," he nodded. After a moment, he added, "Do you usually invite people into your home without knowing their names, Hermione?" 

Though there was no reproach in his tone, Hermione couldn't help but blush. 

"No," she admitted, "but I felt as though I could trust you." 

The redhead chuckled. "Well, you might be the first person who's ever said that." 

Hermione smiled. "So you're not the trustworthy type?"

"What can I say? I'm known for being a bit of a prankster." Fred shrugged. 

"I'll watch my back around you, then," Hermione said, laughing. 

"You should." His voice was suddenly very serious, and Hermione looked at him in alarm before noticing that his blue eyes were twinkling. "I'd _definitely_ keep a close eye on me if I were you."

"That's easy enough, I live right next door," Hermione pointed out. 

"What if I had something _else_ in mind?" Fred took a step closer to her. He was mere inches from her now, and she struggled to think clearly when all she could think about was how _good_ he smelled — a heady combination of fresh soap and minty toothpaste. 

"What...did you have in mind?" she managed. 

"A date," he replied promptly. "You and me, dinner...What better way to ensure I'm not getting up to no good?" 

Hermione thought for a moment. Fred was quite the charmer, and she couldn't deny the shock she had experienced each time he had touched her, nor the dizziness she felt at his proximity. 

"Alright, then," she said at last. "I suppose you did save my Christmas, after all. I don't know what I would have done without your help." 

Fred grinned, then leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek. "That's the spirit, Hermione. Pick you up at eight?" 

She nodded, her cheek tingling where his lips had touched it. "Eight would be perfect." 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
